What are some key moments that show that Rilucas just doesn't work in the romantic sense?
There are quite a few examples of this, but I think New World, Secret of Life, Belief, and STEM are some of the biggest.Ā
With New World, the peer pressure they felt to be a couple was obviously the culprit of most of the awkwardness that they encountered in the episode and I think thatās an incredibly believable scenario. But, thereās one bit that stands out to me and itās their awkwardness at holding hands.Ā
Hereās my thing. They like each other. Peer pressure or no peer pressure, considering that theyāre holding hands with someone they like, (especially for the entirety of the walk from Topangaās to Rileyās apartment), you would think theyād have eased into it more at some point, just a little bit, just a smidge. The funny thing is, they actually seem MORE uncomfortable by the end of it all than they did at the beginning. They literally have their arms outstretched by the time they get to Rileyās and again, I acknowledge that peer pressure was a major factor in their failure at comfortably being a couple. They werenāt ready for that yet and thatās completely understandable (and believable given Riley & Lucasā characterizations up to that point), but there are certain elements of that, like the hand holding, that seem to speak to deeper issues. The fact that they were SO, almost comically, uncomfortable with it seems to speak, to me at least, to their level of physical comfort/chemistry or lack there of (which, as Iāve mentioned before, I feel is a very big part of any romantic relationship, regardless of age).
Secret of Life is also important because it really emphasizes the underlying tension that exists in Riley & Lucasā idealization of one another. I know this gets debated a lot and Rilucas shippers always want to say, āWell, the only reason Riley was mad at Lucas was because he kept a secret from her, not because of what he did or because of him being differentā And theyāre correct, to a point. Riley was upset that Lucas didnāt tell her about his past or what heād done, but she was also upset over the idea of Lucas being different than who she thought he was. This is stated very explicitly in the episode when Riley says:
āAs long as youāre not different than I think.ā
āTell me that whoever this Zay kid is, that he canāt just come in here and change you from the Lucas we know. Tell me nothing changes.ā
Riley was not just upset that Lucas kept a secret from her. Riley was upset at the idea of Lucas potentially being someone different than who she thought he was. (Compare that to Mayaās āWhatever you did at youāre old school, you are still such a Huckleberry.ā Whatever he did, to Maya, it doesnāt change a thing. Heās still huckleberry to her.)
Iāve spoken at length about the idealization issues that plague rilucas, so I wonāt get too deep into it here, but Rileyās comments in SoL show that she has a certain preconceived notion of who Lucas is and that she doesnāt want that to change (one thatās presumably typified by the idea of him birthing horses, wanting to be vet, and being a hero.) This episode really spoke to Rileyās idealization issues and the sheer existence of this desire to ignore part of who Lucas is, is super problematic. (Note Rileyās complete and utter denial of whatās actually happening in front of her during the locker scene. Lucas is there, threatening this guy, and Rileyās all doe eyed, talkin about Lucas being a vet. She is literally ignoring this part of Lucas that doesnāt fit with her idea of him and attempting to cover it up with a part that does, i.e. his veterinarian dreams. Not a good sign for a romantic relationship, which is, in this universe anyways, based on unconditional love for all of who someone is.)
Belief is a really big one for me (not just in regards to rilucas, but the square dance as a whole). Belief not only features a blatantly name dropped square dance, but it also visibly shows the swapping of partners (or ships, as it were), from Maya/Farkle+Riley/Lucas to Lucaya/Riarkle. And I think one of the things the episode really hammered home was why Maya/Farkle & Riley/Lucas doesnāt work. Maya/Farkle were equally content with sitting on their imaginary beach on their fake vacation and Riley/Lucas literally agreed on everything. They even ask one another,Ā āWhy do I need you?ā And itās such an important moment that I think a lot of their shippers ignore. Riley and Lucas are so similar to one another that, in the case of this heavy and deeply personal topic (beliefs), they donāt need each other. They donāt even need to discuss it. Thereās nothing there to discuss. They feel exactly the same and are getting nothing beneficial from the partnership. Nothing. So much of nothing that they all decide to switch partners again. Like, the message in that is resoundingly clear.
Meanwhile, when the episode finally settles on Lucaya and Riarkle, you see a major major contrast in the partnerships (vs. Maya/Farkle & Riley/Lucas). Lucaya and Riarkle are both able to have conversations that result in the slight opening of minds.Ā Theyāre both able to have mature discussions about a deeply personal subject without pushing each other too much (like Riley & Maya/Lucas & Farkle) and without the complete lack of any benefit in being partnered together because of similar mentalities (like Farkle & Maya/Lucas & Riley).Ā
After their conversations with Lucas & Riley respectively, you FINALLY start to see the wheels turning for Maya & Farkle and itās so important that it took this particular set of pairings for that to occur.
This is also paralleled in STEM. Lucaya & Riarkle being partnered in that episode was crucial to the storyline and, again, speaks to how beneficial those partnerships are. If Riley & Lucas were paired together, Lucas would have let Riley do the science from the start, she would have had no reason to get worked up and boom, Riley doesnāt get a lesson on feminism and the importance of girls in STEM. If Maya and Farkle were paired, Maya would have let Farkle do all the science and boom, Maya doesnāt get motivated to care about science. Lucas wanted Maya to participate in the project. He pushed her too. He made it as easy as possible, but he pushed her. If Maya had been with Farkle instead, Farkle wouldnāt have pushed her and if Lucas had been with Riley instead, Riley wouldnāt have had any reason to push back.Ā
Like with Belief, itās once again emphasized that Maya/Farkle & Riley/Lucas sometimes struggle to be as beneficial to the growth of the characters as Riarkle & Lucaya are (at least when it comes to certain topics.)
In particular to Rilucas, Lucaya pushes one another in a way that Rilucas simply canāt because, to harken back to a pretty key BMW lesson, theyāreĀ ājelly and jellyā. Itās tedious and redundant and āwhy would we want to be with somebody exactly like themselves?ā
And thatās one of the biggest things working against romantic rilucas, IMO. They have so much in common that they donāt push one another as much or as well as Lucas & Maya do and that ability to push/motivate each other (the right way), is very important to romantic relationships in this universe. Riley & Lucasā struggling in this department, as exemplified by Belief & STEM, is a pretty strong example, IMO, of whyĀ rilucas doesnāt work in the romantic sense.
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind
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stormborns
izzy806
germansingergirl
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